Child of the Mark
by blondie-smartypants
Summary: When the Oracle issues a prophecy that sends her into insanity, is this just a regular quest, or is maniacal danger lurking at every step? Find out along with Kylie, Ryder and Lexie! OCxOC, OCxOC, no original characters really used, sorry. T because it fits. Read and review .


**AN: So this story is written by two authors, the co-owners of this account! That's me and my cousin. As of now, we're gonna go by Smarty-Pants (Me) and Blondie (her). This is our second attempt at fanfiction (the first crashed and burned). R&R, it would mean a lot :) Also, we think that the scenes might be too short and hence are hampering the story, so if you could comment specifically on that, it would be great!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own PJO. Not even a little bit.  
-**

The Hermes cabin had come up with the idea of spending their free hour on friday playing hide and seek, and all the campers were headed towards the meeting place, the lake. Kylie Williams, from Apollo, was already there; one of the earliest ones as usual.

Today she had worn her white 'Cupcakes' tank top, with denim cutoff shorts that ended just about mid-thigh. Her strawberry blonde waves were pulled back in a ponytail, as usual. She was sitting cross-legged at the edge of the lake, waiting for her best friend (and half-brother) Ryder to show up.

Ryder Hunt was late, which was not something that anyone would be surprised at. He looked like a _typical_ son of Apollo (blonde hair, blue eyes, peachy skin, standard beach-boy hunk), he slept like a typical child of Hypnos. This time, though, he'd set out of the cabin within an hour after he was supposed to, which was _quite_ an improvement, but he'd gotten held up by Lexie Marin.

She was a daughter of Hades, two years younger than Ryder was (he was 18). She'd left her cabin and seen Ryder a bit ahead. She jogged to catch up with him, her long black ponytail bouncing on her back, and her bare legs glaringly obvious. She was wearing a black tank top and dark blue short shorts, her usual uniform.

"Late again, are we?" Ryder grinned at her.

"You're one to talk, Hunt. Caught up on your beauty sleep yet?"

"Well my dark circles seem to have reduced but my pores are just _enormous_! You would know what that's like better than I do, though."

"_I_ would know anything about_ your_ ghastly pores? Dream on, man-Barbie."

"It's Ken, not 'man-Barbie', genius."

"I'd take that as a compliment from anybody else, but your concept of a genius is probably someone who can draw a straight stroke of eyeliner, so no."

"You're just jealous because you're such a zombie."

They'd reached the lake by now. Not that they noticed.  
"You're just jealous because zombie's are more manly than you are."

"Bitch please. Have you _seen_ my abs?"

"Ugh. I'd rather wear a dress."

"If that's your misguided attempt at turning me on, you're failing."

"If that's _your_ misguided attempt at turning _me_ on, you need psychiatric help."

They both _finally_ noticed that they were at the lake, and were surrounded by a bunch of silent campers. Ryder realised what was happening and had started to speak, "NO- umf!" but Lexie punched him and yelled "NOT IT!"

Kylie usually hung out with Ryder while playing games like these, but Ryder had been forced into playing as the seeker, so she'd hidden alone. She was absentmindedly walking in the forest, her right hand lightly running along the rough barks of the trees. She was too lost in some random thought - probably something like 'who invented the toaster?' - to notice a rustling sound that was growing closer behind her. Suddenly a porcelain-white hand grabbed her arm and dragged her to the ground behind a tree, quickly covering her mouth before she could scream. She turned around to see a petite looking girl with a mess of black hair and an overdose of black clothes - Lexie. Kylie didn't know her too well - as in she'd never actually _spoken_ to her - but she'd heard about her from Ryder. She was about to ask Lexie why she'd pulled her down, but the urgent look in Lexie's dark eyes stopped her. The daughter of Hades gestured towards the clearing where Kylie had been walking, and Kylie saw Ryder.

Lexie silently motioned toward a thicker than usual growth of trees. Kylie strained her eyes and noticed the intended location: Rachel Elizabeth Dare's cave. Lexie raised her eyebrows, as if to ask, _'should we?'_ Kylie shrugged _'why not?'_ and started to crawl in its direction.

"RAY-CHELL!" Lexie screamed - _loudly_ - when they were inside the den.

"COMING!" an even louder reply echoed off the stone ceiling, followed by the sound of something shattering, and a faint _'oops'._

Lexie rolled her eyes, and flopped down onto a red, velvet couch. Kylie just stood at the entrance, looking around in awe.

The 'cave' was a two-storeyed, luxuriously furnished, air-conditioned, oracle-esque, _party pad._ The sofas and armchairs were dull, blood red; the stone walls and floors were carpeted with dull violet; golden ornaments and golden picture frames and golden lanterns and golden weapons littered - no, decorated - the place. There was the largest effing stereo Kylie had ever seen pushed against a wall, next to the largest effing fridge Kylie had ever seen, and the largest effing_ in-house bar counter_ (made up in mahogany) pushed against another wall. A gold-gilded spiral staircase led to the higher floors: "the first floor is Rachel's bedroom, and the second is her art studio," Lexie said in answer to Kylie's wide-eyed, slack-jawed face.

"Hey Lexie!" a voice came down the staircase, followed by a girl in paint splattered jeans and a Green Day tank top. Her bright red hair was scrunched up into a messy bun, held together with a pencil. "And hello-?"

"Kylie," Lexie supplied. "Hide and seek. I saved her from the terrible fate of seeker-dom at the hands of her oh-so-annoying best friend."

"Ooh, Ryder-talk. Do continue," Rachel smirked. Lexie rolled her eyes.

"Nice too meet you," Kylie smiled and held out her hand: Rachel took it.

And that's when she lost it.

_"The daughter of the Light and the daughter of the Dark,_

_Are destined to bring home the child of the Mark,_

_They'll learn of a secret, a secret that burns,_

_And lest it get out, a Goddess shall turn."_

The green smoke, surround-sound-voice, the collapsing-after-prophecising - these parts were considered normal. What wasn't normal was how Rachel refused to uncollapse.

Her red bun came undone when she hit the floor. Her normally peach skin was going pale, paler, paler, by the second. Her body was writhing and shuddering, and she was moaning maniacally. Lexie tried to shake her awake, but whenever she touched her, Rachel spasmed. Lexie tried to hold her down, but Rachel just screamed and tried to attack her.

Kylie ran. Out the cave, through the forest, crashing into Ryder ("CAUGHT Y-wait, what's wrong?") across the cabins, past the volleyball court, and into the Big House.

"Rachel-cave-Lexie-prophecy-spasming-scary-help," Kylie managed to say before her legs went out from under her and she fell onto the porch.

"Ryder, take Kylie to her cabin, she sounds tired-"

"No, I'm coming with you."

"Ryder," Chiron sighed.

"Chiron," Ryder replied in the exact same tone.

"Fine. Cider!" Chiron called to a satyr. "Take this girl to the Apollo cabin, will you? Ryder," he nodded at the boy, "hop on."

Chiron galloped at a lightning speed, reaching Rachel's cave in 11 seconds. "Record time!" Ryder held his hand up for a high five, now off the back of the centaur, but he had already galloped into the cave, so Ryder followed.

"-she said a prophecy, and then it's like she just went mad. She started spasming and wailing and screeching and scratching-" Lexie pointed to the now torn carpet under where Rachel's body was splayed, "and I kept trying to hold her down, to wake her up, but she just got madder every time I touched her-" Lexie stopped for breath, "and she got more violent with every second, and at first she was just attacking me in reaction to me touching her, but then it's like she _wanted_ to attack someone-" she extended her arms, "and then she scratched me, too-" Ryder noticed long red welts on the porcelain skin, "and then after a while she just seemed to lose her energy, and decided to lie down and half-heartedly scratch the carpet-" all eyes turned back to where Rachel was.

"It's alright, Alexandra, you did what you could, it's okay. Ryder here is going to take you back to your cabin now, okay? I'll take care of Rachel," Chiron assured her.

"You'll be able to save her?" Lexie asked, her eyes fixed on him, unblinking.

"I'll do my best," Chiron smiled sadly.

Ryder had thought he would need to hold her up, help her walk, maybe watch her cry a bit. But as the case often was with Lexie Marin, he was wrong. She walked without support, firm steps, but slow. She didn't cry, but she was definitely deep in thought. She didn't say a word, which was normal for a person to do after having watched their best friend go insane, but this meant she wasn't making fun of Ryder, and this made him uncomfortable.

"Did they steal your emotions when they turned you into a zombie?" he asked her, at an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Did they steal your sensitivity when they gave you plastic boobs?" she bit back, clearly unamused.

Ryder's head turned to face the ground, his bright golden hair falling into his eyes, and he bit his lip, his face apologetic.

Lexie, meanwhile, had an internal dialogue: _'Oh my Olympus, he's adorable when he does that.' 'Shut up, Alexandra, your best friend may just have lost her marbles.' 'Well, she would've agreed.' 'Point.'_

Ryder and Lexie and all the numerous, talkative internal Lexie's walked in silence till the edge of the forest.

"Where's Kylie?" she asked Ryder.

"In her cabin. Want me to walk you there?" Ryder brightened up.

"No I'll get there myself, thanks," Lexie replied curtly. His face fell again. "You could bring us some food..." she said tentatively.

Ryder's face came back to life. "Food, coming right up!" he proclaimed, and ran off towards the kitchens. Lexie laughed at his childlike-ness.

After feasting on chicken cheese and rosemary sandwiches - courtesy of 'British McHottie Masterchef' as Ryder liked to call himself - the trio went back to the Big House.

"You'll need to go on a quest, that's for sure. Lexie, Kylie, the prophecy was made to the two of you, so it's only fitting that you go. As for the third-" Chiron looked at them questioningly. Ryder made his puppy dog face.

"Ryder?" Kylie asked.

"I don't see why not," Chiron decided.

"Fine," Lexie begrudgingly agreed.

"Well, get packing then. You leave first thing tomorrow morning," Chiron dismissed them. The other two started walking away, Lexie hung back.

"Chiron, about Rachel..."

His face softened. "She doesn't look too good, Alexandra, but we've contacted Apollo. She's being taken to Olympus tomorrow morning - Apollo is picking her up himself in his Sun Chariot - and he will treat her there. He's sure he'll be able to do something. I don't want you to worry."

Lexie nodded. She turned around and strode out of the Big House, walking too fast to see Ryder waiting for her, and Ryder watching her walk away.

When the Hades table remained empty at dinner time, Ryder got worried.

"What if she's crying?"

"She's tough and all that. She isn't crying."

"What if she's sad?"

"She's bound to be. Her best friend is - not fine. Give her a break."

"What if she needs someone?"

"Daughter of Hades, Ryder. Best left alone."

"What if - what if she tried to kill herself? What if she already has?"

"HOLY HADES, RYDER, CALM DOWN. SHE. IS. FINE. _FINE._ GET IT?" All the campers turned to look at the Apollo table; Kylie glaring at Ryder, him staring at his lap.

He caught Kylie off guard during her last bite of vanilla-raspberry sorbet.

"Let's take some food for her? She loves food."

_"Fine,"_ Kylie finally relented.

Lexie was listening to loud, loud Metallica, too loud to hear the pounding that was happening against her door. The only reason she even noticed that it had been kicked open was because her head involuntarily turned towards the smell of fried bacon and barbecued chicken wings.

She pulled the headphones off her ears and ran to her visitors; "FOOOOOOOOOOD!" she wailed lovingly.

"'Oh _hello,_ Ryder,'" Ryder started to say in a terrible imitation of Lexie's voice. "'It's wonderful to see you. How thoughtful of you to drop by and bring me something to make sure I don't stay hungry all night. Why didn't I go for dinner? Why, my arse was just too busy sucking face with my chair to let me leave, you see. What's Kylie doing here anyway? I was looking forward to a night of wild lovemaking with you. I don't usually mind a third, but Kylie is your sister, so you can see why that might be a problem. Oh she's here to take the video? Well please, have a seat. And you, you hot piece of British-Irish sexiness, come, eat bacon off my bare stomach.'"

"Shuft ufp, Rfydeh, lemmeh eehf," Lexie replied, her mouth full with bacon. She gulped it all down in 8 seconds. "So I was thinking we could start our search in New York. We haven't really discussed where to begin, and since we're supposed to be _finding_ something - someone - we might as well start there. Everything strange turns up in New York anyway. Plus we'll have my mom's apartment to crash at for as long as we're there. What do you think, Kylie?"

"I think that makes sense. We'll talk to Chiron in the morning, but I don't think he'll have a problem, seeing as he has no bright ideas of his own. I asked him when I saw him before dinner," Kylie replied.

"So that's sorted then," Lexie smiled, and finished the last of the chicken.

"You ungrateful wench," Ryder narrowed his eyes at her.

"Oh I'm sorry, did you want some?" Lexie proffered her empty plate, mock-innocently.

"I brought you that food. _I_ did."

"Oh Ryder, my knight in rusted, second-hand, aluminium armour, how can I _ever_ thank you?"

"A blo-_ow!_" Kylie kicked him. "I mean, you could try waking up early tomorrow."

"Ryder, Ryder, you dream too big."

**-**

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